The first full week of the minor league baseball season is now complete. The Dayton Dragons hosted the Great Lakes Loons this week after having a 3-game road series in Lake County to begin the season. Among the Dragons it’s been Blake Dunn that has stood out the most.
The outfielder hasn’t been able to remain on the field much since being drafted. He missed more than half of the year in 2022 while in Daytona, but when he’s been on the field he’s performed quite well. selected in 2021 in the 15th round of the draft out of Western Michigan, Dunn hit .290/.468/.495 in 33 games for Daytona. That was a .963 OPS in a league where the average OPS was just .687. The Florida State League is and always has been the most pitcher friendly league in all of minor league baseball.
The performance from Daytona picked up where it left off for Blake Dunn when he started this year in High-A Dayton. The outfielder has been productive at the plate, hitting .286/.429/.619 so far in 28 plate appearances. That has come with more walks than strikeouts (five to four). He’s also stolen two bases in as many attempts, making him 27-for-28 in stolen base attempts in just 56 games during his minor league playing career.
Dunn is known for his speed, and he’s shown some good raw power and even some game power. He’s walked at a high rate in his career (16%) and he’s made contact at a good rate (22% strikeout rate).
The offensive numbers are easy to look at and see that Dunn has been more than productive. Defensive numbers are pretty much non-existent in the minor leagues. But since it’s 2023 we’ve got plenty of video to look at, too. And this past week Dunn has flashed the leather out in right field for the Dayton Dragons.
The season is just getting started, but it’s been a heck of a start for Blake Dunn. If he can remain on the field it will be interesting to not only see what kind of numbers he can put up, but where he winds up by the end of the season. He’s already 24-years-old, so the organization could be more aggressive with promotions if he is getting things done on the field throughout the season.